08/05/2022
NEWS STORY
Having agreed a two race exemption on the jewellery ban, a defiant Lewis Hamilton now says the bling will remain in place in Spain and beyond.
If nothing else, the Miami weekend has witnessed a ramping up of the 'battle of wills' between the FIA and drivers - and in particular Lewis Hamilton - over jewellery.
Now part of the scrutineering process, detente appeared to have been reached when the seven-time world champion was given an exemption from the ban which would see him continue to flash the bling over the Barcelona weekend.
Then came the FIA's decision to cite watches as jewellery also.
Speaking in the wake of qualifying, having put his Mercedes W13 sixth on the grid, a defiant Hamilton said that post-Monaco the jewellery will remain in place.
Asked if he was happy with the two-race exemption, the Briton admitted that he was not, adding that he had no intention of removing the offending nose stud.
"I got an exemption here, I'll get an exemption for the rest of the year," he said. "Wedding rings are allowed."
Asked how he will approach the ban when it comes into effect in Monaco, he smiled: "I'll wear four watches next time.
"When they told me about the jewellery, they said safety is everything," he continued. "And I said, 'Well, what's happened over the last 16 years? I've had jewellery for the last 16 years, so was safety not an issue back then?'"
Another critic of the crackdown is Kevin Magnussen, who is unhappy at the demand to remove his wedding ring.
"I understand what they are they saying," admitted the Dane, "but it is a wedding ring around your finger.
"I'll take a little bit of extra burn on my finger to race in my wedding ring," he added. "And if something was going to happen, something bad, I would want to wear my wedding ring. It kind of feels bad to take it off.
"With something like that, like your wedding ring, let us take that responsibility. There must be somehow to remove liability."
Check out our Sunday gallery from Miami, here.